Training at all levels is an important priority to the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine (COM). The Millennium Plan developed for the COM proposes to double extramural support and to increase research faculty by 260 at the COM and 60 at the Children's Hospital by 2006 with a focus on "Growing Our Own" future faculty from medical students, residents, and fellows. Currently, a training program has been supported by the College of Medicine since 1990 and has offered opportunities to train 10 to 15 medical students/year. The current application builds on the strengths of the current program and is designed to offer up to 20 positions during Years 01 and 02 for students to participate in a 10-week Summer Program between the first and second years of medical school and for additional students to spend up to three months on a project during their senior year of medical school. With anticipated growth, we request 25 positions during Years 03-05. The current program has a well-organized method of selection of trainees and mentors as well as an effective means of assessing the trainees' progress. Past experience with the program has shown that the proposed plan is effective and offers an excellent exposure to students that may influence their career decisions. A faculty of 43 Ph.Ds, M.D.s and M.D./Ph.Ds from multiple departments with a proven track record of success in research (including multiple faculty with support from NIDDK) and mentoring are available to the students from the University of Cincinnati and other institutions from whom underrepresented racial and ethnic groups will be recruited. Included within the program is 10-hours instruction in course work entitled "Introduction to Research" which includes a module on Responsible Conduct of Research, a Mid-Summer Symposium at which students present work in progress and a Poster Competition at the completion of the Summer Program. Support for this program should help to increase the pool of M.D.'s who will pursue basic or patient-oriented research careers.